3p Weekend: Your Cheat-Sheet to the VW Emissions Scandal

With a busy week behind you and the weekend within reach, there’s no shame in taking things a bit easy on Friday afternoon. With this in mind, every Friday TriplePundit will give you a fun, easy read on a topic you care about. So, take a break from those endless email threads and spend five minutes catching up on the latest trends in sustainability and business.

But what exactly is the scandal, and why is it such a big deal? Spend a few minutes consulting our cheat-sheet, and you'll have all the information you need to keep up with those conversations at the water cooler.

What is a 'defeat device,' anyway?

The EPA and CARB accused Volkswagen of installing defeat devices in four-cylinder Volkswagen and Audi automobiles from model years 2009 to 2015, which really just means they installed software to manipulate information transmitted during vehicle emissions testing.

The researchers were stunned by what they found: The made-for-the-U.S. VW diesels scored acceptably low for emissions during tests but spewed noxious pollutants on long road trips. The researchers made their study public at a forum in San Diego in May 2014, with officials from the EPA and the tough California Air Resources Board present -- leading many to wonder why it took so long for the regulatory bodies to act. Many also pointed to the automaker's recent corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports, saying the absence of data on emissions should have been a tip-off.

Why does it matter?

Okay, so Volkswagen fessed up to intentionally engineering its cars to trick emissions testing. But why is this such a big deal?

An analysis by the Guardian found that those U.S. VW vehicles “would have spewed between 10,392 and 41,571 tons of [nitrogen oxides (NOx)] into the air each year if they had covered the average annual U.S. mileage.” Complying with the EPA’s standards would have meant those vehicles would only have emitted 1,039 tons of NOx per year.

Volkswagen will feel a huge pinch in the pursestrings, as well as a crippling blow to its reputation. But defrauded customers will feel the pain, too. As Philip E. Ross of Spectrum magazine wrote, “Even after VW pays the multibillion-dollar bill to refit its diesel cars to meet EPA standards, its customers will have to pay a price, too. Because their cars will get worse mileage, they will command a lower resale price.”

What's the fallout?

Volkswagen will have to pay billions to rectify the situation, but that's far from the only fallout of this scandal. The company's CEO resigned a few days after the scandal broke. Since then, Volkswagen and Audi agreed to return “Green Car of the Year” awards bestowed upon their 2009 and 2010 “clean diesel” models.

The bottom line

As information continues to emerge about Volkswagen and other automakers falsifying emissions results and essentially defrauding consumers, the auto industry -- and indeed business as a whole -- will need to ask some tough questions.

Mary Mazzoni, Senior Editor, has written for TriplePundit since 2013. She is also Managing Editor of CR Magazine and the Editor of 3p’s Sponsored Series. Her recent work can be found in Conscious Company and VICE’s Motherboard. She is based in Philadelphia.